50 
PAPYRUS. 
This, however, is a matter of little consequence ; 
we shall therefore attend to what is more particularly 
interesting in the history of the plant, the method 
of manufacturing it into paper. For tliis purpose, 
the thick part of the stalk being cut in two, the 
pellicle between the pith and the bark, or perhaps 
the two pellicles, were stript off, and divided by an 
iron instrument, which probably was sharp-pointed, 
but did not cut at the edges. This was squared at 
the sides, so as to be like a ribband, then laid upon 
a smooth table, or dresser, after being cut into the 
length that the leaf was required to be. These 
stripes, or ribbands, of papyrus, were lapped over 
each other by a very thin border, and then pieces 
of the same kind were laid transversely, the length 
of these answering to the breadth of the first. 
“ The book which I have,” says Bruce, “ is eleven 
inches and a half long, and seven inches broad, and 
there is not one leaf of it that has a ribband of 
papyrus of two inches and a half broad ; from which 
I imagine, the size of this plant, formerly, being 
fifteen feet long, was pretty near the truth. No 
such plant, however, appears now ; I do not re- 
member to have seen one more than ten feet high. 
This is probably owing to their being allowed to 
grow wild and too thick together, without being 
weeded.” 
It appears from the following observations of Mr. 
Bruce, that the woody part of the papyrus was used 
to cover the books made of the bark. u In a lame 
o 
and very perfect manuscript in my possession, 
